Vintage racers of all motorcycle...
Vintage racers of all motorcycle racing disciplines will be at the AMA Vintage Racing Grand Championships at Mid-Ohio.
If you enjoy watching or racing vintage motorcycles, there's one place you definitely want to be this July 9-11: AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. There, for the second year running, vintage racers from around the country will battle for AMA Racing No. 1 plates at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships.
Current pro racers, former pro racers, weekend warriors and youth riders will compete in motocross, hare scrambles, trials and roadracing on the Mid-Ohio grounds, while dirt-track racers will line up at the Ashland County Fairgrounds half-mile in nearby Ashland, Ohio. Racers of all skill levels and age classifications, riding machines from nearly all eras, are welcomed at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships -- arguably the most varied motorcycle competition event in the country.
While the top racers compete for the honors of AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Champion and AMA Track Racing Vintage Grand Champion, all riders at the event have a shot at an AMA Racing National No. 1 plate and a coveted invitation to the exclusive year-end AMA Racing National Championship Banquet, part of the AMA Legends & Champions weekend at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas Nov. 19-21.
"Last year, KTM factory racer and Grand National Cross Country contender Cory Buttrick was our AMA Off-Road Vintage Grand Champion, while former Canadian dirt-track champ Paul Germain took home the AMA Track Racing Vintage Grand Championship," said AMA Director of Racing Joe Bromley. "They represented the elite riders among a wide range of champions who put their names in the record books in 2009. This year there will be a whole new chapter of champions, and we're looking forward to providing another top-caliber event."
AMA Director of Operations Jack Penton, also an AMA Hall of Famer for his multiple gold-medal rides in the International Six Day Trial, explained that vintage off-road racers will have an additional incentive not to miss this year's event.
"With Husqvarna as the 2010 Marque of the Year and the legendary Malcolm Smith serving as grand marshal, off-road racers young and old owe it to themselves to attend AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days," Penton said. "This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete for an AMA Racing National No. 1 plate, meet one of the greatest motorcycle racers ever, and experience all of this in the incredible environment that is AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days is something you don't want to pass you by."
In addition to AMA National No. 1 plates, additional benefits to racers at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships are the opportunity to meet stars of motorcycle racing's past that are regulars at the event, and post-event access to free high-resolution, professionally shot event photography at the AMA's online member photo gallery at Gallery.AmericanMotorcyclist.com.
As with all events that are part of AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships are a fundraiser for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame, which tells the stories of its inductees -- the men and women who have shaped the world of motorcycling throughout history.
Competitors in all classes and disciplines can access online pre-entry via AMARaceManager.com. Supplemental rules, class structures, a weekend schedule and downloadable entry forms in PDF format for those who wish to mail or fax in their pre-entries can be found at AMARacing.com and AMAVintageMotorcycleDays.com.
Pre-entry fees for all off-road, motocross and dirt-track disciplines are $50 for the first class and $30 for each subsequent class in the same discipline. Roadrace entries are $85 for the first class and $75 for each subsequent class each day of racing.
Youth racers more than 12-years old are welcome in motocross, hare scrambles, trials and dirt-track competition at the AMA Racing Vintage Grand Championships. Riders must be 14-years old or older to compete on motorcycles with displacements greater than 250cc. Roadrace competitors must be 18-years old or older in all classes.
In addition to vintage motorcycle competition, AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days features North America's largest motorcycle swap meet, demo rides of current production bikes, educational seminars, bike shows, the Federal Companies/Allied Used Bike Corral, motorcycling seminars, the new product Manufacturers' Midway, and club corrals featuring marque and regional clubs.
For tickets to AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days, see MidOhio.com.